[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 120 (Thursday, September 12, 2013)] [Extensions of Remarks] [Page E1301] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] HONORING SOLENBERGER'S TRUE VALUE HARDWARE STORE ______ HON. FRANK R. WOLF of virginia in the house of representatives Thursday, September 12, 2013 Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Winchester, Virginia's oldest hardware store, Jno. S. Solenberger True Value Hardware. Solenberger's Hardware is celebrating its 125th anniversary this week. Solenberger's was founded by John Solenberger and Daniel Stouffer in 1888 and can be found today at 832 Berryville Ave., where it sells a large variety of products at competitive prices. The store employs over 30 people from the Winchester community and has been proudly run by the Solenberger family since its inception, now spanning five generations. Currently, nine of John Solenberger's descendants work for the store and one, Cyndi Thwaite, still serves as president. Solenberger's has been a constant for the community through the ups and downs of the last century and has proven itself a positive force for Winchester and its residents. I wish the Solenberger family the best of luck in continuing the family tradition. I submit the following article from the Winchester Star on Solenberger's Hardware's unique place within the community. [From the Winchester Star, Sept. 7, 2013] (By Sally Voth) Hardware Store Is a Family Affair Winchester.--The city's oldest hardware store is throwing itself a party today. Solenberger's Hardware (Jno. S. Solenberger & Co.) is marking its 125th anniversary this week, capping it with a car show today from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event will also feature a bounce house, bungee run, food vendors and door prizes, said Patti Solenberger, director of marketing and merchandising. Her husband John Solenberger is the great-grandson of the hardware store's founder, John S. Solenberger. The store got its start in 1888 as Solenberger & Stouffer, at Baker and Cameron streets. Solenberger's cousin Daniel Stouffer was the co-founder. After the original store was destroyed by a fire in 1908, a new one was opened at 142 N. Loudoun St., dropping Stouffer from the name, Patti Solenberger said. The business would stay in that three-story building for the next 85 years. I. 1993, Solenberger's Hardware bought its current store at 832 Berryville Ave. The 50,000-square-foot building had formerly been a Heck's and an L.A. Joe's, company Vice President John Solenberger said. His father John T. Solenberger died just before the store moved. About 40,000 square feet of the space is used for the sale of items ranging from tools to plumbing and electrical supplies, lawn and gardening equipment, kitchenware, fans, soaps, hats, candles, grills and even toys. ``We have to satisfy everybody,'' Patti Solenberger said. Today, nine of John S. Solenberger's descendants work in the store. Great-granddaughter Cyndi Thwaite is the store's president. ``We've got a fifth generation now,'' John Solenberger said. But he didn't grow up assuming that he would one day help to run the family business. ``I wanted to be a veterinarian when I was a kid,'' John Solenberger said. ``The more I worked [here], the more I enjoyed working with the people. Just the fact it's a family business and being able to keep something going that's been there generations.'' While Solenberger's has had industrial locations selling transportation products and bearings, it now handles those products from the back of the store, John Solenberger said. Along with family members, about 30 other people are employed at the store. While working with relatives is mostly good, it has its drawbacks, John Solenberger said. ``You never stop talking about it,'' he said of hardware-store related conversations. ``I love working with him because he's a great guy,'' said Patti Solenberger, who has worked at the store since 1993. ``I respect him so much. It's been a great 20 years. We all for the most part get along.'' Thwaite has been company president for 20 years, although she said she and her younger brother are more like co- presidents. ``We're very, very proud,'' she said. ``It's something that I guess when we were kids we never thought about. We never thought about being here for 125 years.'' Like her brother, going into the family business wasn't part of Thwaite's original plan either. She changed her mind after doing some student-teaching. ``My dad and I worked very well together,'' Thwaite said. The siblings have seen some changes in the hardware store business over the decades. ``Back 30 years ago, we were one of the only ones in town, and people had more of an allegiance,'' Thwaite said. ``And you don't quite see that as much now as you did back then. Same with employees. We've been very fortunate that we have such long-term employees.'' In fact, two employees--Jack Shiley and Sam Riley--have more than 55 years each under their tool belts at Solenberger's. While the arrival of Lowe's and The Home Depot in Winchester concerned them at first, the Solenbergers said their business hasn't really been hurt by either. ``I think people automatically assume we would have an adversarial relationship ..., but they're so good to us, and we're good to them,'' Patti Solenberger said. Each carries items unavailable at the other, she said. ``I don't think there's a day go by we don't have somebody coming from Lowe's, or we send somebody,'' John Solenberger said. The family is working on an ``antiquities corner'' at the store to display some of its oldest items. These include a gold-leaf store sign, an oak desk, a carriage lantern, a nail bucket, a key machine, a radio and sled runners. ``These are just things we found when we cleaned the store out downtown,'' Patti Solenberger said. When Sam Riley, 74, started working at Solenberger's 55 years ago, customers had accounts, and would be billed. Sales of more than $100 had to be approved by Solenberger. Riley has been a part-time employee for a few years, but plans to continue work if he remains healthy. ``I never got out of bed hating to to work for 50-some years,'' he said. ``There was a lot of nice people. The Solenbergers are very nice people to work for. I'm on the fourth generation [of] Solenbergers. I worked under the second generation of Solenbergers, and that was Hugh and Herbert.'' ``You've got to enjoy your work. I've enjoyed it for 55 years. It's been a good ride.'' ____________________